Instead, something in me went very still.
My response was simple.
“Okay.”
One word.
No questions. No pleading. No emotional appeal. No attempt to chase him down the hallway of his own cruelty.
I hit send.
And as the message delivered, I felt a shift inside me. Not a dramatic transformation, not a grand speech rising in my throat. It was quieter than that. Like a door closing gently but firmly. Like my spine remembering it was allowed to straighten.
If David wanted to draw this line, I would respect it.
But respect worked both ways.
That afternoon I called my attorney, Thomas Chen.
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